Re: What benefit by adding sub-woofer?
Originally Posted by
moe53
I would probably benefit from 2 subwoofers but only one is in the budget. Probably will never justify the expense of a second one. What can I realistically expect adding a subwoofer?
Two subs will help you control room modes. If you have the equipment to measure frequency response and build a room specific EQ profile (a receiver that runs Audyssey from the last few years can handle two subs easily, and there are other systems from Yamaha, etc.) controlling room modes is fairly easy. If it's just you, having a pair of subs probably isn't necessary. If there's two of you or more, having a pair of subs is more handy -- it's about the only way to make a large enough "sweet spot" so that everyone hears the same thing.
What you can expect from a sub is hearing the bottom two octaves you aren't really hearing now, with some interesting extras. One thing you get from adding a sub is your mains sound becomes cleaner -- because you're off loading the heavy lifting from your mains onto your subs. So expect your sound to become a bit cleaner, tighter, a bit more relaxed. Ask Dave or Dina for more information about how it will effect your speakers.
If you're going to go for a sub (or two) my personal advice is to look for a servo sub. There are several companies selling them. Rythmik only sells servo subs, and Ascend Acoustics endorsed them long ago and continues to sell them today. But also companies like Velodyne, PS Audio (I think), etc.
Also, servo subs are quite easy (IMHO) to integrate with your mains. They have considerably less distortion (that's what the servo system is doing for you) than a non-servo sub, and this in turn makes them considerably less "colored" and they have less effect on the sound of the mains because of this. Basically, with sub(s) your mains suddenly sound like they reach down below 20 Hz. They still sound like your mains, just with more "reach". Said another way, servo subs typically don't have a sound of their own. This can freak people out at first; they expect the subs to have their own sound and when they don't hear it...
You'll need to decide on sealed or ported. With non-servo subs, most people will tell you to go with sealed for music. I would agree. But with servo subs, I found that ported servo subs sound a great deal like sealed subs. That is, they sound great for music, and they work considerably better for movies (LFE channel) than a sealed sub -- the ported sub can deliver more slam and thunk. This isn't (only) about shaking the walls, I'm talking about adding realism and drawing you into the story -- for example, it makes a book dropped on a table sound real. Or a door being closed. A kid running down the stairs. Those kinds of things. That the thunder in the rain storm both sounds real and vibrates the couch doesn't hurt.
All that said, I have no doubt that I suffer from confirmation bias. I've already been where you are, and already solved my problems with a pair of Rythmik LVX12s. In my own 13.5 x 21 x 8 foot closed room. Best bang-for-the-buck I've found for my HT / music space. Clearly, YMMV.
"If it sounds good, it is good." -- Duke Ellington